At 2:15 p.m., San Jose firefighters arrived at a stretch of Highway 130, about a mile east of Clayton Road, where two men in a convertible had driven off the mountain and landed about 150 feet down the side of a ravine, said Capt. Rob Brown of the San Jose Fire Department.

The passenger, who had minor injuries, was able to leave the convertible and start climbing up the slope with the help of rescuers, Brown said. He was taken to a local hospital.

But the driver had major injuries and was trapped inside the car. Fire crews spent two-and-a-half hours using ropes and pulleys to rescue him, who was then airlifted by helicopter to a local trauma center, Brown said.

The car appeared to have rolled over several times and was significantly damaged by the impact and the rough terrain, which included bush and small trees, Brown said.

In the late afternoon, tow trucks closed that section of the two-lane highway to work on bringing the vehicle to the top of the hill, Brown said.